1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a reader/writer and a mobile communication apparatus, and more particularly to a reader/writer communicating with an IC card or the like in a non-contact manner and a mobile communication apparatus such as a mobile phone.
2. Description of the Related Art
Readers/writers for an IC card, performing communication in a non-contact manner by using magnetic coupling, have been known (e.g., see Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Registration Application Publication No. 6-13214 and Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 11-288447). These known readers/writers 100 for an IC card include an antenna substrate 101 provided with a loop antenna 102 on its upper surface and a control substrate 103 provided with a transmitting/receiving circuit (not shown) on its upper surface, as shown in FIG. 13.
The loop antenna 102 is a printed coil provided on the upper surface of the antenna substrate 101 by printing or the like. In order to ensure a predetermined or more communication distance between the loop antenna 102 and an IC card, the loop antenna 102 is disposed over as wide an area as possible on the upper surface of the antenna substrate 101, so that a wide range of magnetic flux distribution can be obtained.
The lower surface of the control substrate 103 is provided with a ground electrode over a wider area. Due to this configuration, the antenna substrate 101 and the control substrate 103 need to be placed with a predetermined distance therebetween so that the flow of a magnetic flux generated by the loop antenna 102 is not obstructed by the ground electrode. Also, the transmitting/receiving circuit on the control substrate 103 and the loop antenna 102 electrically connect to each other through a communication cable 105.
However, since the known reader/writer 100 for an IC card includes the communication cable 105 to electrically connect the transmitting/receiving circuit on the control substrate 103 and the loop antenna 102, the communication cable 105 needs to be soldered to connectors, which requires many assembling steps. Further, space for routing the communication cable 105 needs to be ensured, which is a factor inhibiting the miniaturization of the reader/writer 100 for an IC card.
On the other hand, this type of reader/writer for an IC card may be configured in a compact size so as to be incorporated into a mobile communication apparatus such as a mobile phone. However, it is very difficult to incorporate a control substrate and an antenna substrate into a mobile communication apparatus, which is originally made compact.